Bene288
New member
I've been saying this for a few years, but now I actually have some initiative. The plan has changed drastically from skiing one area for a week. I could use some advice and opinions on the matter. Here's the run down:
My uncle has a cabin on Lake Tahoe, I was invited to go out for 4 or 5 days in mid February. Easy, fly there, ski, and fly back. They only ski Heavenly. This sounded all well and good. Then I was talking to my friend, he was on the US paralympic ski team and uses a mono ski. They used to train in Breckenridge and he couldn't speak any higher of the place. On top of all of that, I have another relative in Colorado Springs that would like me to come skiing.
We were talking, and my friend was saying how bad he wanted to go out west again. So it got me thinking; "Why not fly into Denver and ski Colorado for a few days, then fly out to Reno to get to Heavenly? I'm out west, I might as well ski a few areas." This would be a great trip, until I looked at the airfare. Flying into Reno or Carson City is quite expensive. I can get from Logan or JFK to Denver for around $250 bucks, but then the Denver to Reno flight is another $300. Going straight to Reno from JFK is up towards $700. Where as doing one way flights the whole way is under $500 (JFK-Denver / Denver-Reno / Reno-JFK)
Just for the hell of it, I looked at how long it would take to DRIVE to Heavenly..too long, end of story. I like adventures, but not 2 days adventures at 13MPG. But driving from Denver to Heavenly? About 16 hours, totally doable, it would take longer than a flight, but I would have a car for the trip! I looked at rental cars, they themselves are expensive, but if you book with a flight you save some serious cash. It was coming out to be about $300 for a 8 day rental. Not too bad, it would be cheaper, but we need a van or SUV for the mono-ski. Then I looked at driving directions, guess what I drive right by going to California from Colorado? Alta and Snowbird. I could potentially end up skiing Colorado, Utah and California without totally breaking the bank. I've been obsessed with trying to get to Utah for the last couple of years, but I was never able to finalize a trip.
I am sure skiing Heavenly would be an incredible experience. It may be the best skiing of my life and I would most likely remember the trip in very high regard forever, but then I have personal reasons as to why I wouldn't want to stay with my family the whole week. I'd much rather take the trip with my friend that monoskis. I'm sure that even if we didn't make it to Heavenly, the Colorado and Utah parts of the trip would be spectacular.
So my main questions are:
-Has anyone ever done a ski bum trip like this, driving from mountain to mountain and sleeping in seedy motels or a van?
-Was the experience worth the extra stress and money of having to drive and find different places to stay?
-Am I putting too much on one plate to thoroughly enjoy the skiing? After all, that's the trip is for.
-Should I be happy enough skiing one area?
-I can take up to 8 days, is that enough time?
Any weigh ins would be appreciated!
My uncle has a cabin on Lake Tahoe, I was invited to go out for 4 or 5 days in mid February. Easy, fly there, ski, and fly back. They only ski Heavenly. This sounded all well and good. Then I was talking to my friend, he was on the US paralympic ski team and uses a mono ski. They used to train in Breckenridge and he couldn't speak any higher of the place. On top of all of that, I have another relative in Colorado Springs that would like me to come skiing.
We were talking, and my friend was saying how bad he wanted to go out west again. So it got me thinking; "Why not fly into Denver and ski Colorado for a few days, then fly out to Reno to get to Heavenly? I'm out west, I might as well ski a few areas." This would be a great trip, until I looked at the airfare. Flying into Reno or Carson City is quite expensive. I can get from Logan or JFK to Denver for around $250 bucks, but then the Denver to Reno flight is another $300. Going straight to Reno from JFK is up towards $700. Where as doing one way flights the whole way is under $500 (JFK-Denver / Denver-Reno / Reno-JFK)
Just for the hell of it, I looked at how long it would take to DRIVE to Heavenly..too long, end of story. I like adventures, but not 2 days adventures at 13MPG. But driving from Denver to Heavenly? About 16 hours, totally doable, it would take longer than a flight, but I would have a car for the trip! I looked at rental cars, they themselves are expensive, but if you book with a flight you save some serious cash. It was coming out to be about $300 for a 8 day rental. Not too bad, it would be cheaper, but we need a van or SUV for the mono-ski. Then I looked at driving directions, guess what I drive right by going to California from Colorado? Alta and Snowbird. I could potentially end up skiing Colorado, Utah and California without totally breaking the bank. I've been obsessed with trying to get to Utah for the last couple of years, but I was never able to finalize a trip.
I am sure skiing Heavenly would be an incredible experience. It may be the best skiing of my life and I would most likely remember the trip in very high regard forever, but then I have personal reasons as to why I wouldn't want to stay with my family the whole week. I'd much rather take the trip with my friend that monoskis. I'm sure that even if we didn't make it to Heavenly, the Colorado and Utah parts of the trip would be spectacular.
So my main questions are:
-Has anyone ever done a ski bum trip like this, driving from mountain to mountain and sleeping in seedy motels or a van?
-Was the experience worth the extra stress and money of having to drive and find different places to stay?
-Am I putting too much on one plate to thoroughly enjoy the skiing? After all, that's the trip is for.
-Should I be happy enough skiing one area?
-I can take up to 8 days, is that enough time?
Any weigh ins would be appreciated!